| The Dodge Brothers | |
|---|---|
The Dodge Brothers at Marylebone station, July 2009 |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Southampton, England |
| Genres | Skiffle, Americana, rockabilly, bluegrass, folk, country and blues |
| Website | http://www.dodgebrothers.co.uk |
| Members | |
| Mark Kermode (double bass), Mike Hammond, Alex Hammond, Aly Hirji | |
The Dodge Brothers are a British skiffle band from Southampton playing Americana, rockabilly, bluegrass, folk, country and blues music. The band includes film critic and BBC television presenter Mark Kermode,[1][2] along with Mike and Alex Hammond and Aly Hirji. The band played on the BBC Two programme The Culture Show, which is co-presented by Kermode, on 19 May 2007.
Kermode has described the band as "guitars, banjo, slap bass, harmonica - and no drums, which is essentially a hillbilly/skiffle set-up. The music we play definitely leans toward rockabilly, but the choice of material is somewhat older, our set includes Washboard Sam's Who Pumped the Wind in My Doughnut, which remains one of the greatest and rudest songs ever written. I think the best way of describing what we do is to say that we play songs about transport and homicide...with occasional episodes of drunkenness".[3]
According to guitarist Mike Hammond, the Dodge Brothers formed circa 2001, when Hammond and Kermode were introduced by their wives. "By the end of the night, we were drinking whisky and playing piano," Hammond recalls, at which time Kermode suggested they form a band. Guitarist Aly Hirji joined 5 or 6 years later, after meeting Hammond and Kermode at a pub where the duo were playing. Alex Hammond joined a short time thereafter.[4]